MY REJECTED MATE’S OBSESSION

CHAPTER FIVE

THE WONDERS

Lucia’s POV

I trailed behind him, walking into a wide field. Now that I was so close to him, I noticed the way he moved. His steps were firm and majestic. He carried this graceful, guarding, dominant and powerful spirit with him as he walked. It almost made no sense how calm I felt around him. It was strange that someone like him, a man who barely knew me and owed me nothing, could make my heart feel at peace. For a moment, I pushed aside the pain of losing my parents and the shame of getting rejected and humiliated by the man I once loved with everything in me.

I shook my head fast, trying to clear the fog in my mind. I should not feel anything close to this. This was how it started with Kaine, too, and look at where that landed me. Orphaned. Hurt. Lost in the woods with strangers who were completely foreign to me.

Whatever would make me look at Ronan the same way I once looked at Kaine, I needed to fight it. Kaine was my first, and he would be my last. I was not ready to get hurt again. Maybe I was not even fated to love anyone. Maybe I should have stayed in my own small corner and lived my normal, simple life. Who would want a limped omega anyway? It was not like people did not say it to my face. They did. Lady Merin did. Alpha Terra made me feel useless all the time, but I trusted his son too much. I gave Kaine too many benefits of the doubt without knowing he was the one benefiting from my foolish hope.

I remembered the first time we mated like lovers. I let him have me before the supposed public claiming. I was blinded by love and I let him mate with me anytime he wanted. I did not care that he refused to mark me, no matter how much I tried to convince him. I told myself it did not matter since we would be together forever anyway. Even now, I could still remember the dirty words he whispered into my ear while he stroked deep inside me. Those strokes were still haunting me. I could still remember his soft touches all over my body. The hungry way he kissed me was stuck in my head. The way he intertwined his fingers with mine whenever he was about to reach his release. Was he really my true love if I could forget these moments so easily?

I mean, I wanted to forget them. He hurt me. He broke me. He shattered my heart beyond repair. I wanted to get rid of these memories, of course I did. I tried, but nothing worked. That was the main reason I approached Ronan for help. I hoped the training would shift my mind away from everything. I did not come here because I wanted to master some supernatural power. I did not care about that. Where was the moon goddess when everything fell apart in my life? On my twentieth birthday, I suffered the most painful and cruel loss. Who would go through that and still walk around like they were normal? How was I her creature yet she let all these bad things happen to me? I approached Ronan for the training so I could stay sane. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I shook my head wearily. It was funny how I let Kaine use me without any limits. I let him do anything he wanted with me. I gave him everything and still, behind my back, he cursed my existence. He made fun of my pure heart. He laughed at my love for him. He mocked me, and never for once did I think he was capable of doing that to me. And now, here I was, thinking I felt safe around Ronan, too. Never again. I told myself I was done. Affliction would not rise again.

“We are here,” Ronan said, stopping and turning to face me.

I nodded slowly.

“This is the field for sparring and sword fights.” He said as his eyes moved around the field. “The timing bell is hung over there, and the different kinds of swords are placed on their stands.”

His eyes came back to me, and I found myself staring at his nicely carved lips before I caught myself. Stupid me. I bit the inside of my cheek hard.

“Go on.” He urged. “Pick any sword of your choice.”

“Sword?” My eyes widened. “I can barely handle a fist fight, let alone a sword.”

“You are underestimating yourself.” He said in a short tone, like trying out a sword for the first time was as easy as saying hello.

“Pick one.” He ordered and the way he said it sounded hot. I hated myself for thinking that.

He looked like he was also affected by the way I stared into his piercing silver grey eyes. We suddenly went quiet. Only the sound of the wind blowing filled the air. There was this strange tension between us and it felt strong.

“Umm… I should…” I stuttered.

“Get the sword.” We both said at the same time.

I turned to leave but a strong wave of nausea hit me. My knees gave out and I fell to the ground, throwing up all at once.

Ronan dropped to my height immediately and scooped me into his arms like I weighed nothing. In the next second, he sprinted off to somewhere I had never seen before. Ever since I got here, I had only been in the chamber Ronan said was mine.

He laid me on a bed and rushed out of the room without saying a word. The room smelled like herbs and something woody. It did not feel empty even though it had no personal items. The smell alone told me it was a healer’s chamber.

Even with how dizzy and weak I felt, I could hear clearly when the door opened again. Ronan walked in behind a very young girl. She looked like she was in her early teens. My confused brain almost asked if she was his child.

“Wait outside, Ronan. You will hear from me soon.” She said with so much boldness that I could tell she had some kind of authority here.

Ronan stopped right away and left the room. But I still heard him through the mind link, telling his men he would be in his chambers if anyone needed him.

The little girl came closer and held my wrist. She moved her thumb over it like she was checking my pulse. Then she touched my stomach before leaning close to stare into my eyes. I blinked in confusion.

What is this small girl doing?

“You are getting examined, Lucia.” She responded.

Fuck. She must have heard me through the mind link. I gave a small smile. “Sorry.”

She stepped away and mixed some type of potion in small containers.

“What is wrong with me, please?” I asked with fear sitting in my throat.

She kept her eyes on what she was doing. “You are pregnant.”

“What?” I froze.